BOOK REVIEW- DARK CORNERS

A real hero can protect and serve, but a true hero knows how to love.

David Cavello is no longer in uniform, but the memories of combat still haunt his every waking moment. Driven to protect and serve, he accepts an undercover job he has to keep hidden from everyone. But David’s mission goes against orders the second he makes contact with gorgeous and spirited Maygen Whitney. The intense attraction he feels for Maygen drives him crazy—almost as crazy as he feels about hiding information from her.  
After growing up with an overprotective father, Maygen feels like she’s finally claiming her independence. Sure, she’s been lonely, but David seems to make all her dreams come deliciously true—until the sting of betrayal sends her world spiraling. Now Maygen’s caught in a tragic web of lies, leaving her more vulnerable than ever to an enemy hidden in the shadows. But when Maygen most needs a hero, David leaps into action—intent on doing whatever it takes to save the woman he loves. AMAZON  4 STARS

Wow, I don't know exactly what I was expecting but this book was different.  The first part dealt so much with the PTSD that David dealt with.  There was also the pulling towards each other and the fulling away of the two characters that had the reader wondering what that was about.  It was more than just the memories and stress of  David's past war-time experiences.  I got so involved with the story about David and Maygen that I totally forgot the information in the book blurb.  Which is kind of good because when more of David's story came out I was temporarily blindsided ( in a good way).  I had to begun to think it was kind of bogging down and I wasn't sure if I was going to like it all that much, until that happened.  But that's when everything began to hit-the-fan.  Surprises, twists and turns galore, made for a very satisfying ending.
I have to add that I enjoyed the other people in the cast of characters. Betha, one of Maygen's close co-workers was one of them.  She had an R-rated mouth, a heart of gold but as direct as a missile.  Nothing was too out there for her to say or ask.
I also liked some of the ways the author described things, like going to a restaurant that was decorated  like Ronald McDonald had thrown up in a Taco Bell.  Can't you just see that?  There's a few more descriptive things like that but not so much that it ruined the story with too much cheese,
Also this is an adult story due to adult situations including, the sexual scenes and some violence.
This book might not be for everyone.  Although I don't personally know of anyone who suffers from PTSD it seemed pretty realistic, in some of the things that were shared.


I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

BOOK REVIEW- INTENDED FOR BRISTOL

 
L. P. Dover’s tantalizing Second Chances series scores once again as the Carolina Cougars’ infamous bad boy takes a shot at seducing a driven career woman who’s supposed to be out of bounds.

Trying to live down his very public indiscretions, Carolina Cougars kicker Jaxon Reed feels like the most hated man in the NFL. Fans and teammates alike treat him with the disrespect he figures he deserves. Unfortunately for them, Jaxon’s no easy target. As payback, he sets his sights on the quarterback’s sister: a sultry brunette who’s curvy, confident, and sexy as hell. But what begins as a revenge fling turns into so much more—a lesson in humanity, and in love.
  
Bristol Thomas doesn’t have time for games, especially those played by her brother’s Neanderthal teammates. A talented interior designer with lofty goals, she doesn’t know the first thing about football, or Jaxon—except that he’s exactly the type of man she usually avoids. But when his deep laugh and deeper kisses break through her walls, she becomes the target of a fan who’s obsessed with Jaxon. Now she needs to know that Jaxon has her back . . . because he already has her heart.   AMAZON

I had mixed feelings on this one.  I like the idea of second chance stories and Jaxon sure had a lot to make up for.  He had some growing up to do before he even met Bristol.  As this story started I was kind of disappointed in it because it was kind of like other stories I have read.  Sports guy who is a player, with bad language, which I hadn't thought about, but it is about football players, right? And Jaxon is into one night stands, so of course there will be sex scenes.  I was all set to give it 3 Stars (it's okay)  on Amazon but then more and more of the "real" Jaxon began to show up.   I began to see some redeeming qualities and even some other unexpected talents that he had other than jumping from one bed to another.  And pulling mean, underhanded tricks on people.  The emotional part of the story about his mother added more of my interest.  That part was well done.  That and the unexpected twist towards the end of the book, caused me to like it more.  That gained it another .5, I just didn't feel like I could give it a full 4 stars, saying that I liked it.  It was all about those mixed feelings.  I felt like it redeemed itself at the end but, not quite enough.  It could have been so much better.


I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

BOOK REVIEW- IMMORTAL WRITERS

Young up-and-coming author Liz McKinnen has no idea that her life is about to change forever when she comes home from her first book tour. When she's kidnapped and told by her captors that she has to kill her fantasy book's antagonist, she thinks that she's fallen into the hands of crazy, dangerous fans... until her antagonist sends a real, fire-breathing dragon after her. 

Liz is quickly initiated into the Immortal Writers, a group of authors from throughout time whose words have given them eternal life, and whose prose is so powerful that it's brought stories over from the Imagination Field into the Reality Field. As Liz meets authors such as William Shakespeare, JRR Tolkien, Edgar Allan Poe, and Jane Austen, she has to learn how to control magic, fight dragons, and face her own troubled past before her power-hungry villain takes over the world. Will she survive the ultimate battle against the dragon lord whom she created?   AMAZON 4.5 STARS

The unusual story-line is what got my attention and my desire to read this book.
Wow, it was intense and fast moving.  I'd have to say I really liked it and it had a really good world building to it.  Liz's kidnapping thrust her into a world that was something that she had never imagined.  It took a while and a lot of convincing before she could believe that what was happening was real.  I enjoyed the secondary cast of characters, they added quite a bit to the story as well.  The dragons and other creatures in the book were well drawn and imaginative as well as plentiful.  The magical powers and the rules that went with them were varied and creative.  As was the idea of an Imagination Room and other parts of The Castle.  There was just so many good,creative things in the book, it's hard to nail it all down in this review.  At least not without giving anything away.
The relationship between Curtis and Liz was different especially since she was real and he was.. well,  a hero.  That's all I'm going to say about that.
The only thing that bothered me, was at one point, a character was speaking to the dead. Actually connecting with and interacting.  That is a no, no for me.  It doesn't last long and it doesn't end well. So maybe that helps, maybe as a warning?  
This is a complete story with no cliffhangers and I liked the ending.  But be warned, there will be blood, death and pain. But there is also love, friendship, loyalty and overcoming,  There will also be the thing I like best; good winning over evil.  You just have to read the book to see how that happens.


I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Becky Kelley - Where's the Line to See Jesus - OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

I first heard this song 5 Years ago.

LEGACY Jewelry- May it be to me as YOU have SAID

The Crowning Jewels/ Legacy      LINK

I really like this one.

There is also a blog link on this site. 

BOOK REVIEW- COLORADO COWBOY CHRISTMAS

 
This Holiday season author, Jill Haymaker, brings you home to the small Colorado mountain town of Peakview, Colorado, where everyone has the chance of love. 
Cynthia Welch has made a name for herself as one of Chicago’s top divorce attorneys at the expense of her personal life. Burnt out, she heads to Peaktop Guest Ranch for a couple of months of solitude over the holidays.
AJ Coulter, a cowboy from Wyoming, has been a loner and a drifter ever since his divorce and his teenage daughters leaving for college. He finds a temporary job at Peaktop Ranch as the head wrangler.
When their paths cross, Cynthia begins to question her life in Chicago, and AJ struggles to find a way to keep her in Colorado.
Can the spirit of Christmas bring these two people from very different worlds together and help them find their way to true love?  AMAZON  3 STARS

I liked the story in a low-key kind of way.  It was sweet, charming and without detailed sex scenes.
It had a good Christmas, family feel to it.  It felt as though as Cynthia started to unwind and just relax so did the reader.  I wouldn't say it was a real deep book but it did have good main characters who you could  care about.  I just wondered how in the world the two of them could have any future with their so different lifestyles.   If you are looking for surprises, I don't think that there were that many.  It does have a friendly town and friendly people and  it does end with a HEA

BOOK REVIEW- WILD HORSES, WILD HEARTS

Eli Banks heads west into the foothills of the Rockies to search for wild horses, but when he hears a cry and encounters Clare McKay and her young brother in need of help, he strides headlong into danger. While he’d hoped to find wild horses, he finds something just as challenging—an Irish gal with a wild heart.

Spring, 1873. Eli Banks stares out the window of his ranch house just north of Greeley, restless. It’s been a long, harsh winter in Colorado Territory, and he’s itching to ride out on the Front Range once the drifts of snow melt. So when his ma asks him to take a payment to a man in Fort Collins for some horses she’s buying, Eli is glad for the task.

Once his transaction is completed, he follows horse tracks into the hills, excited at the thought of adding a new wild herd to his family’s ranch. But in the middle of his pursuit, he hears a gal’s alarmed cry and hurries to investigate.

Clare Ferne McKay, caring for her squalling younger sisters, is called outside by her mam, who tells Clare to go look for her brother Paddy, who left to tend the family’s cows an hour ago. Clare, the oldest of seven siblings, is glad for the chance to get out of the stifling cabin.

She follows the tracks Paddy’s horse had made in the deep snow, but when they stop, she finds the horse but not her brother. Then, she sees Paddy across a frozen pond, tending to a cow in labor.

There is no way to get to Paddy but across the ice, but the warm day is quickly melting the surface, and when Paddy tries to meet her partway, the ice cracks and Paddy is in danger of drowning.

Clare’s cries summon Eli Banks, and with his help, they rescue Paddy. Eli is smitten by the feisty, stubborn Clare, and Clare finds Eli unbearably annoying—though she can’t but help being drawn to his handsome features and the compassion he shows ...

Wild Horses, Wild Hearts is the prequel to the Front Range series of sweet historical Western novels set in Colorado in the 1870s.      AMAZON  4.5 STARS

I really liked this book, it flowed smoothly and quickly.  Yes, I know that it was a shorter book, but it didn't really feel like it.  This is not the first book in the series that I have read, so it was nice to re-visit a few of the characters from the other books.  Especially one of my favorites,  Eli's ma.  A woman skilled with horses people.  She could "see and know" things about people before they showed up.  She was a person who, accepted the teachings of Christ that was preached to her by her father-in-law.   She also had skills from her Native American background.  That included being a Cheyenne medicine woman, some of it that she was passing onto her sons.  It was fun to read some of the Cheyenne words and the Irish words and saying.  The reader wasn't left hanging to their meaning or having to leave the page to look it up,  it was right there.  I appreciated  that. 
Eli and Clare had so many things in common even before they realized it.  Both were getting restless, both had attracted the opposite sex without having any real lasting interest in anyone. Both, were hard workers, with a fair amount of responsibility, and they loved family and  they LOVED horses.  I liked BOTH of the main characters. l also liked  that Eli was tough enough to outlast a blizzard, but he also had a tender caring side that he wasn't afraid to have seen.  Clare also had a spunky, tough side when she need to be.  She had many skills but that didn't take away from her sweet side either. 


There an introduction to another story at the end of this book.  In fact the first chapter of "Colorado Promise" is included. 

"I was given a free copy in exchange for an honest review."